March, 2003 - Volume 4, Issue 5

Judicial Flavors Are Spicy Indeed

The names of these sauces are sure to make you smile. When you walk by a shelf in Newcastle Produce and see a sauce called “Lawyer’s Breath Hot Sauce,” you can’t help but laugh. And when you pick up the bottle, the art and the description are full of spice and humor, too. “Fortunately, your breath will not reek of broken promises and hidden clauses…” it reads, in part.

But the amazing thing about the award-winning Judicial Flavors line is that these sauces not only sound good on the bottle, they taste great!

Founded by lawyer Wendell Peters about 5 years ago, Judicial Flavors began in his kitchen, where he was on a quest for the endorphin rush brought about by eating super hot peppers, lots of garlic, and other spicy foods. “In the last 20 years, there have probably been about three meals I have eaten that did not contain hot sauce,” says Peters. “I don’t know how to eat without having some kind of pepper product on my food.”

“There are two kinds of chili heads,” explains Peters. “There are those who like chili flavor, and those who like pain. Most of our sauces are user-friendly—you can eat them. Only a few are designed for those folks who need pain.”

Peters says the creative sauce names were inspired by his huge collection of hot sauces. “I had one called Hog’s Breath,” he says, “and then I thought of Lawyers Breath. The rest of the names were easy, because the material is endless.”

Peters, who is a practicing attorney in Auburn, says his colleagues in the legal profession have been very supportive of his business. “They are all rooting for me to get over the wall,” he says, laughing. “They say ‘You can do it, Wendell! Be free!’”